Boiler-tube cleaner.



J. ZILLIOX.

BOILBR TUBE CLEANER.

APPLIUATION FILED MAR. 9, 1909.

933,5 1 9. Patented Sept. 7, 1909.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

Invrzvv',

J. ZILLIOX. l BOILER TUBE CLEANER. APPLICATION FILED MAR. 9

Patentedspm19o9.

2 SHEETS-'SHEET 2.

50 j by steam or oth er motive medium is supplied UNITED sTATns PATENT ormoni..

JOHN ZILLIOX, OF BFFALO, NEW YORK.

BOILER-TUBE CLEANER.

Application filed March 9, 1909.

'cleanerl of that type in which the scale or incrustation is removed from the inner and outer sides of such tubes by hammer-like blows and more particularly to a cleaner of this character in which the scale loosener is actuated by a motor driven by steam, compressed air, water or similar motive medium.

The object of my invention is the provision of a compact and powerful boiler tube i cleaner of this class having a large and eX- tensive piston-area in proportion to the diameter of the cleaner, rendering it possible to deliver effective blows with a comparatively short transverse stroke of the piston and especially adapting the tool for cleaning small boiler tubes, although its improved construction is equally advantageous in large cleaners.

`In the accompanying drawings consisting of 2 sheets: Figure l is a longitudinal sectional elevation of the cleaner, showing the same inserted in a boiler tube. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section in line 2 2, Fig. 3. Fig. 3 is a similar section at right angles to Fig. 2 and taken in line 3 8, Fig. l. Fig.

4 is a perspective view of the locking washer.

Figs. 6, 7 and 8 are cross sections on the correspondingly numbered lines in F igs. 2 and 3. Figs. 9 and 10 are cross sections on line 9-10, looking in opposite directions. Figs. ll, 1.2 and 13 are cross sections on the correspondingly-numbered lines in Figs. 2

j and 3. Fig. let is a perspective View of parts of the cleaner detached from one another.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding partsv throughout the several views.

The body of the cleaner comprises an outer cylindrical shell or casing A adapted to enter the boiler tube a and provided at its rear end with a hollow plug B to which is secured the supply pipe or conduit b whereto the cleaner. As shown in the drawings, the plug is secured in the casing by a screwjoint and the supply pipe is secured by a similar joint to the plug,but if desired these parts may be otherwise connected.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. '7, 1909.

serial No. 482,227.

C, C represent two longitudinal bars arranged within the casing on opposite sides of the center thereof and having their outer sides c curved and fitted against the bore of the inclosing casing while their opposing inner sides c1 are flat and parallel, as shown. Within the front part of the casing is ar ranged a transverse head D provided on diametrically opposite lsides with curvedl concentric faces d which lit the bore of the y casing and at right angles to said curved faces with flat faces all which engage the flat inner sides of the longitudinal bars. his front head and the longitudinal bars are secured together by transverse screws c, as shown in Figs. 2 and 6.

Within the rear part of the casing is arranged a transverse head or partition F provided on diametrically opposite sides with.. 'curved faces f which fit the bore of the casing and at right angles to said curved faces with fiat faces f1 which engage the opposing inner flat sides of the longitudinal bars. This rear head, like the front one, is secured to the longitudinal bars C preferably by screws g, but any other suitable means may be employed for fastening said front and rear heads to the bars. rIhese Vlongitudinal bars and heads are held against forward displacement by a stop or shoulder a1 in the front part of the casing A against which the front ends of said bars and the front head abut, as shown in Figs. l, 2 and 3. The body formed by these bars and heads is held against rotation in the casing by a key or tongue c2 projecting forwardly from one of said bars and interlocking with an internal groove c3 of the casing, as shown in Fig. 5. Other suitable means may be employed for this purpose, if desired.

The inclosing casing, the longitudinal bars C and the front and rear heads D, F form a piston chamber which is elongated lengthwise of the casing and which has two fiat longitudinal sides formed by the inner parallel sides of the longitudinal bars, two transversely curved longitudinal sides arranged at right angles to the flat sides and formed by the bore of the casing and two transverse ends formed by the inner sides of the front and rear heads. Within the pistonchamber is arranged a piston H which eX- tends lengthwise of the chamber and is mounted to oscillate transversely therein.

As shown in the drawings, the longitudinalV parallel faces of the longitudinal bars C.

- The piston is provided at its rear end with a which joint is maintained between these parts. As

an additional means of pivoting the piston on the bod-y, a circular pivot pin K is employed which passesthrough the piston andi the longitudinal bars C concentrically with the curved faces of the piston and the fro-nt and rear heads, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3.

Upon admitting a motive agent, such as steam, into the piston chamber alternately on opposite sides of the piston and exhausting the same therefrom, the piston will be transversely oscillated therein. Attached to the free front end of the piston: is a scale loosener of any suitable construction, that shown by way of'example in the drawings consisting of a longitudinal arm or shank L screwed into a socket in the front end of the piston and carrying a hammer-head M. This shank projects forwardly through a transverse slot Z in the front head D. The admission of the motive fluid to and its escape from the piston chamber is controlled by valve mechanism of any suitable con.- struction, but I: prefer to employ the mechanism shown in the drawings which is constructed as follows:

N represents avalve chamber arranged in the rear portion of the casing and separated from the piston-chamber by the rear head or partition F. The side walls of this valve chamber are formed by the reduced rear portions of the bars C and a ring or sleeve N1 embracing said portionsV and closely fitting the bore of the casing A. The motive agent is conducted from this valve chamber into opposite sides of the piston-chamberby two ports 0, o1 extending through the rear head F on opposite sides of the piston, as shown in Fig. 3.

P represents a transversely-'reciprocating slide-valve which bears with its flat facev p against a corresponding valve-seat formed by the fiat rear side of the head F. When this valve is moved to one'end of its stroke, l,

one of the steam inlet ports 0, 01 is-uncovered and the motive fluid 1s admitted into the corresponding side of the piston-chamber, while the other port isvcovered and cuts off'the motive fluid from the other sidel ofsaid chamber; while when the valve is moved to the other end of its stroke, the motive fluid is cut o'from the first mentioned side'of'the piston chamber and admitted to the other side thereof.` rlfhe slide valve is actuated by atai'l A or extension Q projecting rearwardly from VYthe pistonthrough a central opening g of the rear head F and engaging against opposite` sid-esof a cavity or recess p2 formed in the front side of the valve. By this means, the valve is shifted automatically in a direction opposite to the piston and causes the motive agent to be alternately admitted to opposite sides of the piston-chamber, in the manner before described. The valve is guided be! tween the rear endsA of the longitudinal bars C which extend `rearwardly beyond the head F for this purpose, as shown at c4, in Figs.` 2 if and 9. A washer R interposed betweenthe back of the valve and the front end of the screw plug B, serves to confine the valve to its seat.v i Preferably the motive fluid is exhaustedY i from the piston chamber principally through ,i an exhaust passage s extending lengthwise v through the tail QP, Vpiston. H and hammershank L which latter is made hollow for this i purpose, as shown.v in Figs. 2 and' 3. The re-` i: cess p2 of the valve into which the tail Q, extends forms an exhaust cavity with which i the rear end of thepassage s constantly communicates and thiscavity and the face of the valve areV so constructed or of such a size that j when the valve is at either extremity of its stroke, one end thereof uncovers the adjacent port o, or 0.1, allowing the motive fluid to passfrom the valve chamber N into the piston chamber on that sideV of theY piston, K i while the other of said ports is cut off from the valve chamber and connected with the' exhaust cavityv p2 of the valve,` as shown in Fig'. 3,allowingthe fluid on the advancing side of the piston to exhaust through the last t named port, saidexhaust cavity and the'cxhaust passage s. The latter is of comparatively la'rge diameter to afford a free and prompt exhaust of the fluid and insure a full stroke of the piston and a proper action of the tool. f

In its preferred construction, the slide 110 valvev has a relatively large` exhaust cavitywhich is'providedi between its top and bottom with a raised annular rib p3 into which the tail Qgis-loosely fitted, and against which it bears in actuating the valve. This rib has 115 a number of' transverse notches or passages p4 to permit the motive fluid to pass freely from the mouth of the valve-cavity into the exhaust passage s( y ,lf desired, the slot Z in the front head l) 120 through which the hammer-arm Lprojects may be of such a length that its ends form auxiliary exhaustr por-ts Z1, Z2 which are alternately uncoveredby the front end" of the piston. As shown in Fig. 3, the exhaust port Z1 125 formed Vby the upper end of the slot iscovered by the upper part of the piston. so'that the motive agent, whichv at' this time is entering the upper side ,ofE thepiston chamber l through the upperiinl'etl port o, cannot'escape 130 and is compelled to exert its pressure against that side of the piston, while the exhaustport Z2 formed by the lower end of said slot is uncovered by the piston, to permit the spent motive agent on the lower side of the piston to escape.

In order to prevent the motive agent from passing around the longitudinal edges of the piston from one side of the piston-chamber to the other, t-he piston is preferably provided in said edges with longitudinal relief channels or grooves u and in its front end with similar transverse Achannels u1 which latter connect said longitudinal channels with the exhaust slot Z. By this provision, any steam passing through the joints between the piston and the longitudinal bars C escapes forwardly through the relief passages u, 'u1 and the slot Z, thereby preventing back pressure in the piston chamber and obtaining the greatest efficiency of the motive agent.

The screw plug B forces the bars C and front head D against the shoulder a of the casing through the medium of the washer R which bears against the rear ends of said bars,as.shown in Fig. 2. This washer is held from turning relatively to said bars and the casing by transverse ribs r arranged on its front side and bearing at their outer edges against the flat inner sides of said bars, as shown -in Figs. 2 and 10. The washer has a centralaperture r through which the incoming motive fluid enters the valve chamber N, and also a circular row of openings r2 with one of which a lockscrew or bolt r3 of the plug B is adapted to engage for positively preventing rotation and loosening of the plug. As shown in Fig. 2, this lock-screw is arranged in a longitudinal opening of the plug opposite the row of recesses or openings r2, so that the screw may be interlocked with any one of the same according to the position of the plug when tightened. It will be noted that inasmuch as the washer is held from turning by its ribs r, it in turn holds the plug from rotation when its lock screw engages a recess of the washer. As shown in Fig. 13, the head of the screw is preferably provided with a locking notch r4 which receives the adjacent side of the supply pipe b, thus reliably holding the screw from turning. Obviously, this pipe must be detached from the cleaner before the screw can be turned to lock or unlock the plug B. This adjustable locking feature of the plug is desirable, as it is necessary to tighten the plug from time to time to take up longitudinal looseness between the casing and the bars C due to expansion or elongation of the casing.

Inasmuch as the oscillating piston and its chamber may be extended lengthwise of the casing to any extent, it is possible to obtain a large piston area relative to the diameter of the tool, producing a cleaner which combines great power with compactness and rendering it especially suitable for cleaning boiler tubes of small diameter. These advantages, as well as the reliable and uninterrupted operation of the tool when in service, result principally from the use of an oscillatory piston arranged lengthwise of the casing combined with a separate valve operated by the piston and the arrangement of the inlet lports in a partition between the piston chamber and the valve chamber.

I claim as my invention:

l. A tube cleaner, comprising a body containing a piston-chamber and a valve-chamber in rear thereof and provided with inlet ports connecting said valve-chambery with the opposite sides of the piston-chamber, a pivoted piston arranged lengthwise of said body in the vpiston-chamber, a valve in said valve-chamber controlling said ports, means for transmitting motion from the piston to said valve, and a scale-loosener connected with said piston.

2. A tube cleaner, comprising a body containing a piston-chamber and a valve-chamber arrangedin rear thereof, and a partition separating said chambers, said partition containing inlet ports connecting the valvechamber with the opposite sides of the pistonchamber, a pivoted piston arranged lengthwise of the said body in the pistonchamber, a valve in the valve-chamber controlling said ports and operatively connected with the piston, and a scale-loosener connected with the said piston.

3. A tube cleaner, comprising a body containing a piston-chamber arranged length.- wise thereof, a valve-chamber and ports connecting said chambers, a bivoted piston arranged lengthwise in the piston-chamber and having a longitudinal exhaust passage therein, a valve in said valve-chamber adapted to connect opposite sides of the piston-chamber alternately with said valve-chamber and said exhaust passage, and a scale-loosener connected with the piston.

4. A tube cleaner,.comprising a body containing a piston chamber, a valve-chamber in rear thereof and ports connecting said chambers, an oscillating piston arranged lengthwise in the piston chamber and having therein a longitudinal exhaust passage, a valve in the valve chamber adapted to connect opposite sides of the piston chamber alternately with said valve chamber and said exhaust passage, and a scale loosener actuated by said piston.

5. A tube cleaner, comprising a body containing a piston chamber, a valve chamber in rear thereof and ports connecting the valve chamber with opposite sidesof the pistonchamber, an oscillating piston arranged lengthwise in the piston chamber and extending into said valve chamber, the piston having a longitudinal exhaust passage therean oscillating piston arranged `lengthwise in the piston-chamber and pivoted at its rear end, a scale loosener connected -with the front end of the piston, a valve arranged in the valve-chamber, controlling said ports and having an exhaust cavity, and means for I shifting the valve consisting of a tail projectingrearwardlyv from the piston throughsaid partition and into the exhaust cavity of the valve, said tail, piston and scale-loosener having an exhaust-passage extending therethrough and communicating with said valvecavity.

7. A tube cleaner, comprising a body containing a longitudinal piston-chamber provided at its front end with an exhaust opening, an oscillating piston arranged lengthwise in said chamber and provided in its lateral edges with longitudinal exhaust channels communicating with said exhaust opening, a scale-loosener operatively connected with the piston, and means for alternately admitting a motive fluid to said chamber on opposite sides of the piston.

8. A tube cleaner, comprising a body containing a longitudinal piston-chamber provided at its front end with an exhaust opening,gan oscillating piston arranged lengthl wise in said chamber and provided in its lateral edges with longitudinal exhaustcliannels and in its front end with transverse exhaust-channels connecting said longitudinal channels with said exhaust opening, a scaleloosener operatively connected with the piston, and means for alternately admitting a mot-ive fluid to said chamber on opposite sides of the piston.

V9. A tube cleaner comprising a body having a cylindrical outer shell or Y casing, heads arranged within the front and rear parts of the shell and longitudinal bars arranged within opposite sides of the shell and connecting said heads, a transversely vibrating piston arranged in the chamber formed by said shell, heads and bars, means for admittingv a motive medium to the chamber on opposite sides of the piston and exhausting the same therefrom, and a scale loosener connected with said piston.

10. Ay tube cleaner comprisingv a body having a' cylindrical outer shell or casing, heads arranged within the front and rearfparts of the shell and each having two curved faces on opposite sides of its periphery which fit the bore of the shell and two flat faces on its opposite sides at right angles to the curved faces thereof, a pair of longitudinal bars arranged Within the shell on opposite i sides thereof and each having a curved outer side which lits the bore of the shell and a flat Y inner side secured at opposite ends against the corresponding flat faces of said heads, a piston vibrating transversely in the chamber formed by said shell, heads and bars and shaving flat longitudinal faces on its o-pposite sides which engage the flat faces of said bars, means foradmittinga motive medium g to the chamber on opposite sides ofthe pisg ton and exhausting the same therefrom, and

l a scale loosener connected with said piston.

l taining a piston chamber"providedV on its opll. A tube cleaner comprising a Vbody conposite longitudinal sides with two parallel flat longitudinal faces and at its front and Y rear ends with concentric curved faces the axes of which are arrangedat right angles to the plane of said flat longitudinal faces, a transversely oscillating piston arranged in said chamber and pivoted at its rear end 1 on opposite-sides of the piston and exhausting the same therefrom. y

l2. In a tube cleaner, the combination of l a casing having a stop, a body in the casing abutting against said stop, a scale loosener mounted on said body, aL screw plug engaging the end of the casing and operatingrto rotary' part interposed between said plug and said body and having a series of locking recesses, and a locking-membercarried by the plugv and arranged to engagefsaid recesses.

13. ln a tube cleaner, the combination of a casing having a stop, a body in the casing abutting against said stop, a scale loosener mounted on said body, a screw plug engaging the end of the casing and operating to clamp said body against said stop, a washer interposed between said plug and body and held against rotation on the latter, said washer having a circular row of locking recesses, and a lock-screw arranged in a longitudinal opening of the plug and adapted to interlock wit-h one or another of said recesses. i

aol

14. In a tube cleaner, the combination of lock screvv arranged in a longitudinal open a casing having a stop, a body in the casing ing of the plug and coperating With said abutting against said stop and having spaced recesses longitudinal bars, a scale loosener mounted Witness my hand this 6th day of March, 5 orfl said body, a scew plug engagirlig the eng 1909.

o the casing an operating to c amp sai T body against said stop, a Washer interposed JOHN ZILLIO' between said plug and body and having ribs Witnesses: fitting between said bars, said Washer hav- C. F. GEYER, l0 ing a circular roW of locking recesses, and a E. M. GRAHAM. 

